Bryant, the National League Rookie of the Year, led the group, and was worth
5.9 rWAR, 6.5 fWAR, and 5.9 WARP. Correa (4.1 rWAR, 3.3 fWAR, 2.7 WARP) took home the award in the America League but did not actually top the rookie WAR leaderboards in the Junior Circuit.

That honor instead belonged to
Francisco Lindor, who produced 4.6 rWAR, 4.6 fWAR, and 3.3 WARP.

Here is how the other top rookies in the game fared, followed by a look at how they might do in 2016.

Player

PA

BA

OBP

SLG

wRC+

HR

BB%

K%

SB

rWAR

fWAR

WARP

Kris Bryant

650

.275

.369

.488

136

26

11.8%

30.6%

13

5.9

6.5

5.9

Matt Duffy

612

.295

.334

.428

116

12

4.9%

5.7%

12

4.9

4.9

3.8

Francisco Lindor

438

.313

.353

.482

128

12

6.2%

5.8%

12

4.6

4.6

3.3

Carlos Correa

432

.279

.345

.512

133

22

9.3%

18.1%

14

4.1

3.3

2.7

Jung Ho Kang

467

.287

.355

.461

130

15

6.0%

21.2%

5

4

3.9

3.2

Odubel Herrera

537

.297

.344

.418

110

8

5.2%

24.0%

16

3.8

3.9

2.8

Addison Russell

523

.242

.307

.389

90

13

8.0%

28.5%

4

3.3

2.9

1.6

Randal Grichuk

350

.276

.329

.548

137

17

6.3%

31.4%

4

3.2

3.1

2.6

Kris Bryant

2016 Steamer Projection5.6 WAR.273/.360/.507, 137 wRC+

Bryant lived up to the lofty expectations he was given prior to the season and was not only the game’s best rookie but one of its more valuable players, period, becoming one of
the 11 players worth at least 6.0 fWAR.

It was also one of the best debut seasons for a hitter in baseball history, tying for
14th in fWAR (see below) and 25th in rWAR.

Name

Year

Team

WAR

Mike Trout

2012

Angels

10.3

Benny Kauff

1914

Hoosiers

9.9

Joe Jackson

1911

Naps

9.3

Dick Allen

1964

Phillies

8.2

Jimmy Williams

1899

Pirates

7.5

Mike Piazza

1993

Dodgers

7.4

Albert Pujols

2001

Cardinals

7.2

Fred Lynn

1975

Red Sox

7.1

Ted Williams

1939

Red Sox

7.1

Al Rosen

1950

Indians

6.9

Dave Orr

1884

Metropolitans

6.6

Carlton Fisk

1972

Red Sox

6.6

Dutch Zwilling

1914

Chi-Feds

6.5

Kris Bryant

2015

Cubs

6.5

The Cubs' third basemen was the classic three-true outcomes hitter last year, ranking 18th in the majors in walk rate and 27th in home runs, while posting the third-highest strikeout rate.

While the strikeout rate was less than ideal, because it also came with the walks and power (to the tune of a .213 isolated power rate, which was 26th in baseball), it’s a tradeoff Chicago had to be more than happy to make.

He even stole 13 bases on 17 attempts and was worth 7.1 baserunning runs above average,
according to FanGraphs.

The projections say he will continue to play at an All-Star level, as Steamer forecasts 31 home runs, an .868 OPS, and another 5-win season.

Matt Duffy

2016 Steamer Projection3.4 WAR.276/.323/.394, 104 wRC+

While Bryant’s success was easy to see coming, Duffy was one of 2015’s pleasant surprises.

The Giants' third baseman had hit 13 home runs in three minor league seasons before hitting 12 last season alone.

Duffy was a high-contact hitter, who only walked in 4.9% of his plate appearances and struck out 15.7% of the time. This was fine last season, given the fact that he ran a .336 batting average on balls in play and a .133 ISO, but it would probably not be wise to expect another 116 wRC+ season.

His power should certainly regress, given his .109 career minor league ISO and 51.6% big league groundball rate.

The BABIP should also go down, but he does profile as a player who could post a higher-than-average rate, considering his low infield fly rate and high ground ball and infield hit per ground ball rates, which were all well above average.

Steamer projects him to be a slightly above average hitter, and this seems about right.

His defense at third, though, will pad his value, as he
ranked second among third basemen in UZR and was fourth in DRS in 2015. Though defensive stats can be volatile in small samples, Steamer does not forecast much of a drop off, as it projects Duffy to be worth almost 10 defensive runs above average.

Francisco Lindor

2016 Steamer Projection3.5 WAR.268/.319/.360, 128 wRC+

As great as Correa was last year, according to the major WAR models, Lindor should have actually been the AL Rookie of the Year.

The 22-year-old, who was hyped for his speed and defense, actually had a terrific season at the plate, hitting for both average and some power. Like Duffy, there are good reasons to question whether his production at the plate is sustainable, but the combination of his glove and even an average bat should provide comfortably above average value.

While he had a high infield hit per grounder and ground ball rate, he also was below average in terms of infield fly rate and did not really run an outlier BABIP in the minors (.318 in 1,880 minor league plate appearances). With this in mind, it would probably be best to expect his BABIP to be closer to .300 in 2016.

As for his power, this seems even more like a fluke. Lindor posted a .169 ISO in 2015, despite a career minor league ISO of .106. He also hit a home run on 2.7% of his at bats in the bigs, despite doing so on just 1.3% of his minor league at bats.

Then again, Correa did post an absurd .529 ISO on line drives last season,
according to Baseball Savant, so perhaps he was not as dependent on driving the ball to get extra base hits as other players.

In any case, Steamer, presumably giving weight to his minor league track record, still projects him to post an ISO of .182 in 2016.

He also flashed above average walk (9.3%) and strikeout rates (18.1%), and despite being 1.6 defensive runs below average last season, Steamer projects him to be a +7 defender this year.

Overall, Correa was one of the most fun players to watch in baseball, and it is easy to see this continuing.

Jung Ho Kang

2016 Steamer Projection2.6 WAR.261/.323/.419, 107 wRC+

More so than the other players mentioned here, these projections sadly come with a major caveat. Steamer has
Kang, a borderline 4-WAR player last year, projected to have over 500 plate appearances in the coming season.

There is reason to doubt this, though, given his season-ending injury that was believed at the time to put the start of his 2016 in doubt.